Zone C -- Megacity One

[The Future Warrior]

Up ahead it was chaos. There were sounds of shouting, chaotic movements and all sorts of badness. It wasn't exactly heartening to be heading into, but...Batman and Archer were supposed to be up here. That was all she needed.

As she and Cell rounded the corner, they both skidded to a stop at the sight of the three before them. It was that crazy blonde again, Jak and...a maid? She dove aside as a blast of gunfire ripped apart her bike, rolling into a crouch. "I don't...don't want to do this!" She closed her eyes. Cell had leaped into the fray, holding off Jak and the maid, and leaving only the crazy blonde, holding he shotgun menacingly, to start stalking toward her.

"So, you ready to rumble, Blueberry?! I'm in the mood for a snack!" she snarled, a manic light in her eyes.

"Wait..." Graowr backed up a pace, holding up a hand, palm out. "Wait, wait, wait! Just listen!"

The blonde stopped in mid-stride, a confused look on her face. "What? You got somethin' to say? Spit it out!"

"I don't want to fight. I know..." Graowr clenched the hand by her side into a fist. "...I have four of the Main Quest items to end this game. I know where the fifth and last one is. I can stop this now, if you let me go."

"And let you fuckin' win?! Fat chance!" The barrel of the firearm swept around, pointing menacingly at the azure demon. "So less talkin' more fightin'!"

"Wait! Wait, I can make you an offer!" Graowr could see the i'm listening flash across the deranged mercenary's face. "I will fight you! All out, to the death if you want. Just...just not here, not now! Listen, I..." She looked aside, her free hand disappearing into her side. She fished around, like in a jumbled backpack, and pulled out her own backpack. "Here, I have...I have a bunch of items. Pieces of the artifacts that have dropped. I have a lot of them. They're the point of this game, getting them and putting them together pushes you higher up the ranks, right?"

The shotgun slowly lowered, a calculating look flickering behind the eyes of the malicious manic merc's eyes. "Yeah. I guess so. What about 'em?"

Graowr had by now taken to fishing out pieces left and right, pulling them from her body and stowing them in the backpack. "You can have them. All of them. I'll let you take them, and promise to fight you later. After this is over, after Dante's Abyss. We'll be at full strength, rested and ready to fight. No limits, no one else in the way, no..." she tilted her head back, the metal of the collar gleaming. "...death collars!" She held out the backpack full of assorted items and artifact pieces, looking at Eirika with a tired, desperate cast to her eyes. "...okay?"

For several long, tense seconds there was nothing. Then Eirika just grinned and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever. Fuck it! A better fight sounds good. I can go beat up on bug-man over there, for now! Fork the shit over, bubblegum, and get the hell outta here before I change my mind."

Graowr tossed the backpack at the deranged woman, before turning around and sprinting away. "After this is over!" she called back. "I'll find you when we're all rested up!" And then she was gone. The safehouse was just ahead. She was on her way to end this.

As per agreement, exchanging all uncompleted artifact pieces with Dawn in exchange for nulling the challenge against Graowr.

Graowr moving from C21 to Safehouse C.